Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste: Transforming Education Through Partnership in a Small Post-Conflict State COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION: A Diversity of Voices Volume 35 Series Editors Allan Pitman University of Western Ontario, Canada Miguel A. Pereyra University of Granada, Spain Editorial Board Ali Abdi, University of Alberta, Canada Clementina Acedo, UNESCO International Bureau of Education Mark Bray, University of Hong Kong, China Christina Fox, University of Wollongong, Australia Steven Klees, University of Maryland, USA Nagwa Megahed, Ain Shams University, Egypt Crain Soudain, University of Cape Town, South Africa David Turner, University of Glamorgan, England Medardo Tapia Uribe, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico Scope Comparative and International Education: A Diversity of Voices aims to provide a comprehensive range of titles, making available to readers work from across the comparative and international education research community. Authors will represent as broad a range of voices as possible, from geographic, cultural and ideological standpoints. The editors are making a conscious effort to disseminate the work of newer scholars as well as that of well-established writers.The series includes authored books and edited works focusing upon current issues and controversies in a field that is undergoing changes as profound as the geopolitical and economic forces that are reshaping our worlds.The series aims to provide books which present new work, in which the range of methodologies associated with comparative education and international education are both exemplified and opened up for debate. As the series develops, it is intended that new writers from settings and locations not frequently part of the English language discourse will find a place in the list. Timor-Leste: Transforming Education Through Partnership in a Small Post-Conflict State Jude Butcher Australian Catholic University, Australia Peter Bastian Australian Catholic University, Australia Margie Beck Instituto Católico para a Formação de Professores, Timor-Leste Tony d’Arbon Australian Catholic University, Australia Youssef Taouk Australian Catholic University, Australia A C.I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: 978-94-6209-882-4 (paperback) ISBN: 978-94-6209-883-1 (hardback) ISBN: 978-94-6209-884-8 (e-book) Published by: Sense Publishers, P.O. Box 21858, 3001 AW Rotterdam, The Netherlands https://www.sensepublishers.com/ Printed on acid-free paper All Rights Reserved © 2015 Sense Publishers No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword Most Rev Basilio do Nascimento, Brother Jeffrey Crowe and Professor Greg Craven vii Preface by the Series Editors Allan Pitman and Miguel Pereyra ix Acknowledgements xi Glossary xiii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 PART I: Understanding the Challenge Chapter 2: Timor-Leste: An Historical Overview A Portuguese Colony Indonesian Control The Collapse of Indonesian Control A New Nation Emerges Problems for the Nation 9 9 13 15 17 20 Chapter 3: Timor-Leste: An Educational Overview Education during Portuguese Colonisation Education under Indonesian Rule The Catholic Church and Education The Referendum and its Aftermath Reconstruction: Development of a New Education System The Catholic Church Primary Education Secondary Education Tertiary Education The Language Conundrum Conclusion 23 23 24 26 28 29 32 33 34 35 35 37 PART II: Committing to the Partnership Chapter 4: History of the Partnership Origins of the Partnership The Establishment of Catholic Teachers College and ICFP Partnership with Australian Catholic University Course Development Conclusion v 41 41 44 46 50 52 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 5: Scope of the Partnership ICFP Broadening the Scope of the Partnership Conclusion 63 63 70 71 PART III: Transforming Education Chapter 6: Domains and Responsibilities in the Partnership Foundational Values Institutional Deliverables Institutional Infrastructure Institutional Sustainability Conclusion 75 76 79 82 86 88 Chapter 7: Evaluating the Partnership ICFP as a Quality Tertiary Institution Principles of International Development Catholic Social Teaching Post-conflict Small State Conclusion 91 91 95 98 99 100 Chapter 8: Conclusion Sharing a Common Vision Respect for Partners A Long Term and Evolving Commitment Working within Capacity Ensuring Ongoing Credibility and Quality Recognising Broader Development Goals Ensuring Local Participation, Responsibility and Support 101 102 103 103 105 105 106 106 Appendix 1: Marist Brothers who have served in ICFP 109 Appendix 2: Staff Employed at ICFP (at time of publication) 111 References 113 About the Authors 119 vi FOREWORD Education has been recognised as an important factor in helping to overcome disadvantages among the people of developing nations. In the case of Timor-Leste, the after effects of its struggle for independence and the small size of the State left it with grave problems in providing educational capacity building in the years after 1999. In response, a partnership was developed between the Diocese of Baucau, the Marist Brothers in Australia, Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Instituto Católico para a Formação de Professores (ICFP) at Baucau. It initially aimed at providing in-service support for current teachers and then a bachelor’s degree programme to train primary teachers while also developing the Institute to a point where it would be Timorese-operated. At first, the goals of the partnership were modest and specific but over time this has broadened into an ongoing and multi-varied form of co-operation. Inspired by Catholic social teaching and an awareness of development aid principles, the partnership has been able to draw upon a wider group of supporters both within Timor-Leste and from Australia and Europe in order to give the project a greater scope. Over time, ICFP has created widely recognised courses and qualifications for its students. Staff and students have also come to enjoy a high standing in the community and good employment prospects. The Institution is continuing to develop its profile in teaching, research, scholarship and community engagement. The purpose of this book is to examine the co-operative partnership in the development of capacity building in education in Timor-Leste between 1999 and 2012. The study highlights the transformative power of such value based cooperative partnerships. Most Rev Basilio do Nascimento Bishop Diocese of Baucau Timor-Leste Br Jeffrey Crowe fms Provincial Marist Brothers Province of Australia Professor Greg Craven Vice-Chancellor Australian Catholic University vii PREFACE BY THE SERIES EDITORS . The nature of international collaboration requires a level of mutuality between the collaborating parties in order to attain a successful outcome. This is particularly the case in those situations in which a project involves institutions with widely different resource bases, both in a qualitative as well as quantitative sense. If the project reported upon in this book is taken as a case, then there are valuable lessons to be learned. The collaboration is between various organisations with corresponding ideological/religious understandings and within that there is a commonality of mission. The religious underpinning of the project is in line historically of the role of the Catholic Church in Timor-Leste from Portuguese colonial times to the present. There is a clear agreement that the project is to move to full local operation: this is an essential ingredient in both attaining sustainability and in fulfilling the local group’s mission and aspiration. The collaboration is based on the partners deriving outcomes that are not identical but recognise the differences in what constitutes institutional success on the broader scale: in the case of ICFP and the Marist Brothers a viable and respected programme; for the Australian university a successful production of research results as well as addressing the religious promulgation role (as evidenced by the support indicated in the letter from the Bishop). The reader should study this book in the context of the successes and failures of a multitude of international “development projects” which have been supported by organisations as diverse as the World Bank, government-backed organisations such as USAid, CIDA and SIDA, and NGO’s of all types. Allan Pitman Miguel Pereyra Series Editors ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The development and capacity building endeavour of transforming education through the Instituto Católico para a Formação de Professores (ICFP) and its partnership with the Bishop of Baucau, the Marist Brothers, and Australian Catholic University is testimony not only to the work of this group but to the determination of the people of Timor-Leste to build a new society. The warmth and openness of the welcome offered by the Timorese staff and students of ICFP have been much appreciated by the authors of this book. The authors would also like to acknowledge the vision and courage of Bishop Basilio do Nascimento, Bishop of the Diocese of Baucau, and Brother Jim Jolley, Province Leader of the Melbourne Province of the Marist Brothers in Australia in 1999 and subsequent Province Leaders. Bishop Basilio and Brother Jim recognised the power of a faith-based educational capacity building partnership for establishing, developing and sustaining ICFP as a quality higher education provider within Timor-Leste. The Marist Brothers in their newly formed Marist Brothers’ Province of Australia with Brother Jeffrey Crowe as Province Leader have maintained and extended their commitment to the partnership and to the people of Timor-Leste. It should also be acknowledged that ACU’s community engagement commitment to capacity building in Timor-Leste was initiated through the leadership of Professor Peter Sheehan AO as Vice-Chancellor. This commitment has been extended under his successor, Professor Greg Craven, who has endorsed the current range of projects on education, health and wellbeing for the people of Timor-Leste. Educational capacity building in Timor-Leste was initially reliant in part upon the peacekeeping work of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). Departments of the interim government of Timor-Leste provided strategic directions and policies within which ICFP was established. The Ministry of Education in Timor-Leste has subsequently been responsible for in-country policies within which ICFP has operated. The Australian government, particularly through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has supported, in various ways, the involvement of the Marist Brothers, Australian Catholic University and other partners. This Department provided funding in recent years for staff of ICFP to undertake post-graduate study through ACU. The continued funding from organisations such as Misereor in Germany, Woodside Petroleum, AusAID, Marist Asia-Pacific Solidarity, and the eMerge Foundation contributed substantially towards the staffing and infrastructure costs of ICFP. The financial, volunteer and moral support of a number of people and organisations in Australia, including Palms Australia, has made study at ICFP possible for a significant number of Timorese students. xi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors acknowledge Dr John Murray’s close editing of the draft of the book and Jimmy Kim’s excellent work in formatting the text and ensuring correct bibliography and references. They also appreciate the confidence of Michel Lokhorst from Sense Publishers in accepting the submission of this book and for his understanding of the role, nature and importance of transformative educational capacity building in a post-conflict small nation state. A Note on Terminology Until the 1999 vote for independence from Indonesia, the name ‘East Timor’ has been used to describe this area. Although the new nation was not fully independent of United Nations control until 2002, the term ‘Timor-Leste’ is used for convenience from 1999 to the present. Also before 1999 the local people are referred to as ‘East Timorese’ and after 1999 either as ‘Timorese’ or ‘the people of Timor-Leste’. xii GLOSSARY ACU AQAN ASDT AUQA CASEPET CTC CNRT ESRP IACE ICFP IDPs INQAAHE ISF JAM OECD MAPS MECYS MoEC MOU NAAAA NGO TAFE UDT UN UNAMET UNDAF UNDP UNESCO UNICEF UNMISET UNMIT UNTAET UNTL Australian Catholic University ASEAN Quality Assurance Network Association for a Democratic East Timor Australian Universities Quality Agency Caritas Sweden Educational Project for East Timor Catholic Teachers College National Council of Timorese Resistance Emergency School Recovery Project Institute for Advancing Community Engagement Instituto Católico para a Formação de Professores Internally Displaced Persons International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education International Stabilisation Force Joint Assessment Mission Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Marist Asia-Pacific Solidarity Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry of Education and Culture Memorandum of Understanding National Agency for Academic Assessment and Accreditation (also known as ANAAA) Non-Government Organisation Technical and Further Education Democratic Union of Timor United Nations United Nations Assistance Mission to Timor-Leste United Nations Development Assistance Framework United Nations Development Programme United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation United Nations Children’s Fund United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor Universidade Nacional Timor Lorosa’e (Timor-Leste) xiii